


Emotions, That Foe No Lance Can Pierce

by Asdrator



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Grief/Mourning, References to Depression, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:54:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23198152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asdrator/pseuds/Asdrator
Summary: A year after the end of the war with Mad King Ashnard, Titania still hasn’t dealt with her grief over Greil’s death, and feels increasingly hollow. However, after she becomes seriously injured in a battle, she starts to come to term with her feelings with Rhys’s help.
Relationships: Kilroy | Rhys/Tiamat | Titania
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Emotions, That Foe No Lance Can Pierce

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tangerinabina_de_archanea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangerinabina_de_archanea/gifts).



The battle the Greil Mercenaries now found themselves in, against the latest group of overconfident brigands, seemed to be as easy as usual, Titania surmised as she parried an axe blow. With a group of warriors as skilled and tough as these, most battles these days went easily. The lack of challenge was almost enough to make her miss the war with Mad King Ashnard, which had ended a year ago. Almost, though not quite. There wasn’t enough gold in the world to make her want to relive Greil’s death.

Titania had moved on with her life, of course, as they all did. However, that had been out of necessity, and she had never truly dealt with her grief. To be honest with herself, Titania would rather never acknowledge it at all, and lock that feeling of emptiness away deep inside. No matter how many times she thought she’d rid herself of that feeling once and for all, though, it kept rising to the surface to trouble her yet again. The second best thing to do, then, was to ignore the feeling as best she could, and carry on as always.

That was a lie, and she knew it, and she knew she’d never fully be able to ignore the hollowness in her heart. Despite this, the only person she might have been able to talk to about this, Greil himself, was long since dead. She could not speak to Ike and Mist about it, for Greil was their father, and it would be cruel to put her grief over him onto them, even if Ike had some understanding of her past feelings for Greil. Oscar was calm and polite, but excessively reserved and unassertive, and so Titania could not rely on him for advice, especially when it came to such sensitive matters. All the others were completely out of the question for their youth or tactlessness, all except perhaps- Rhys. 

She had forgotten all about Rhys. So lost in her own thoughts, Titania had gone far ahead of the group, and she now saw a pair of brigands who had managed to get past her advance towards the gentle healer. Urging her horse to turn back, she had it gallop towards Rhys, praying with all her heart that Ashera would allow her to make it in time. Titania saw the distance between them close faster and faster, but the head start of the brigands was significant and a vast gap remained. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ike, Boyd, and Mia rush towards Rhys as well, but it was no use. None of them would make it there in time.

Her heart sank, then rose again as she got a sudden idea. Titania moved her legs around to allow herself to stand atop her horse, then once she was close enough to the two brigands who had cornered Rhys, she leapt at them. One of the brigands, who had raised an axe to swing down on Rhys, was knocked off his feet by the tackle, his weapon clattering to the ground. Pinning him down to the ground with a hand around his neck, Titania knocked the brigand out with a single, solid punch. That accomplished, she began to stand, only to suddenly feel a searing hot pain, and be brought back down to her hands and knees.

The second brigand had found a chink in her armor and attacked it, cutting a deep wound into her lower back. Gritting her teeth, Titania whimpered as the brigand pulled the axe out to ready for a second attack, only to be struck down by Ike, who pierced his chest with Ettard. With the immediate danger out of the way, Rhys rushed to her side as fast as he could manage, a worried look on the sickly man’s face. “Titania? Are you able to hear me?” 

His voice sounded much more distant and muffled than it should have. “Hey, keep your eyes open! I’m healing you as fast as I can, so please hang on! Titania!” Collapsing onto the ground, her vision dimming, Titania felt relief that at the very least, Rhys still survived, and wondered if this is what it was like to die. Then, she didn’t wonder anything at all.  
——————————————————————  
Light seared Titania’s eyes as she slowly blinked awake. She slowly looked around the room and realized she was in a bed in the infirmary of the Greil Mercenaries. She tried to sit up, only to become acutely aware of a painful ache in her lower back; the aftereffects of her injury, most likely. Letting out a mumbled curse, she settled for leaning her upper back against the wall behind her. Reaching a hand behind her and under her bandages, Titania gingerly touched the area of the injury; it would definitely scar, but that was to be expected. Healing magic couldn’t work miracles.

Titania laughed softly and pulled her hand back as she realized that if Rhys were here, he’d scold her for trying to sit up and for touching her wound. He was always so concerned with her safety, going back even to the time when they had first met and he had saved her life. The only difference between then and now that mattered was, he had to save her then because she had made a stupid mistake and acted recklessly, getting herself seriously injured by accident. Now, she had acted recklessly and got herself seriously injured on purpose, in order to save his life.

The door to the infirmary creaked open, causing Titania to turn her head to try and see who entered. In came Rhys, carrying some soup and humming softly to himself. When he met eyes with her, it took all he had not to drop the soup, and neither moved for an awkward second. Finally: “You’re awake!” Rhys exclaimed, walking as quickly as he could manage towards her bed and pulling a nearby chair towards it. “You were beginning to worry me with how many days you were unconscious. I’m so glad...”

Frowning, Titania, took the soup from the sitting Rhys and slowly began to eat. As she expected, the soup tasted lovely, even if not quite on par with Oscar’s cooking. That was not what concerned her, however. “What do you mean by ‘how many days’? Just how long has it been?” She asked between bites.

“Oh, right, of course.” Rhys replied with an apologetic smile on his face. Titania did not think it was possible for any living creature to dislike him when he was smiling, though all she knew was that she certainly felt very warmed by it. “It’s been 4 days since that battle. We spent the first couple wondering if you were going to make it. The last two... you were stable, but still nothing would wake you.” His expression turned to one of concern. “You really had us worried, you know! Please, don’t risk your life like that again, especially not for somebody like me with one foot already in the grave.”

The last words Rhys spoke broke Titania’s heart. Did he really think so little of himself? She could not accept that, not in the slightest. “One foot in the grave or no,” She began. “You’re as important to this group as anyone, likely more. You’ve saved our lives dozens of times. You’ve saved my life twice now! Knowing that, how could I not risk my life for you? I’d do it all over again if I had to.”

Opening his mouth, then closed it, Rhys was clearly stunned by her words. He took a deep breath before continuing. “What is the point of being out of the grave if you go and get yourself killed?” Rhys asked, his eyes a mixture of affection and fear. “I want to spend what I have of my life at the side of the woman I love.”

When Rhys said that, time felt like it slowed to Titania. She felt her emptiness, her feeling of being hollow, melting away. So this is what it was like to be loved by a person just as strongly as she loved that person. It was... a very nice feeling; getting used to it as she had with Greil might not be so bad after all. A soft smile spreading across her face, Titania leaned forward, touching her left hand to his right, and the right to his cheek.

“You know, if you wanted to become my lover, you could have asked anytime.” Titania said warmly. Then she pulled his face forward to meet hers, locking him into a fierce kiss. She kissed him again and again over half a minute before finally pulling away, both of them breathless, still embracing. She didn’t want to let go of him, or to let this moment end, but as with all good things it had to, and it finally did.

While they were kissing Titania realized that, while Rhys wouldn’t ever replace Greil or rid her of her grief for him, he didn’t need to. They were two different people with two different personalities. What Titania had missed about Greil, the source of her inner turmoil, was the feeling of loving somebody so strongly. That was what she had felt for Greil, she had come to acknowledge, and now she felt that for Rhys as well. With Rhys’s love, she would finally be able to accept her grief and emptiness and live with them.

As the knight in shining armor, Titania thought it felt rather nice to be the one rescued for once.


End file.
